Take a deep breath and relax, Angels fans. When you see my review of how the Mariners won't be all they're cracked up to be, just like the Yankees, you will understand. ...

Say it ain't so: As if I needed another excuse to avoid Milwaukee, there's the Bud Selig statue. Maybe it's a hoax: The Sporting News story headline says "Bewers will honor Bud Selig with statue." Bewers?

The opinion here is, folks in Florida can make a case for it, just as legitimately as Angels fans can nominate Torii Hunter for the award.

When the shortstop was voted the Rays' MVP last season by Tampa baseball writers, folks all over the blogosphere who didn't watch him play every day ridiculed the selection, citing a hodge-podge of new-wave defensive charts. Forget about the fact he gave the Rays, in their greatest season by far, vastly better shortstop defense than had ever been seen in the franchise's history. Forget that Manager Joe Maddon endorsed Bartlett, as much for his intagibles as anything else.

I usually agree with Joe Posnanski on most of his observations, but this one ticks me off. Now all I need is someone to go back and tell me Brooks Robinson and Ozzie Smith weren't all that good with the leather.

For some reason these days I keep thinking about 10-year contracts for baseball players. Alex Rodriguez has had TWO. Derek Jeter has one. Todd Helton signed an 11-year extension back in 2001.

I understand the double attraction for A-Rod. And I really do appreciate what Jeter has done for the Yankees and how the Rockies felt about Helton.

But giving a player a 10-year contract that starts the year he turns 29 (Mark Teixeira) is a tough call, even with hindsight.

Looking back, I wouldn't have given one to Barry Bonds ... and I would have been wrong. But I had covered his father on the Angels and didn't believe the son, a left fielder, was as good an athlete as Bobby Bonds, who had a stronger arm, more power at an earlier age, was faster and played right and center fields.